The Planking Progress

From the last post you can see how the planking slots together with the bead & cove edges. The idea is to have the cove at the top, in order that you can trickle glue into it.

The bead of the next plank fits into the glued cove. The planks are screwed to the moulds as a temporary fixing: the screws will all be removed and the holes filled when all the planking is in position.

The greatest problem is the quantity of glue to use. Too much and it squeezes out everywhere. If it doesn't squeeze out you are left wondering if you've used enough.

Planking Begins

First things first ... I began by having a really good clean up. There was so many wood-shavings and sawdust from shaping the stem and transom frames, not to mention bevelling all the moulds (molds).

Next job was to mask off the edges of the moulds to stop the planks sticking to them.

My major problem is space. I don't have room to erect a workbench or tool storage, therefore I took the opportunity to tidy everything up - won't last though. Next time I build I will have to rent/hire a workshop large enough.

I spend some time looking at other boat builders blogs and noted how many sing the praises of a Japanese rasp. I thought I would get one to help to bevel the moulds. Little did I realise when I ordered it on Amazon that it would be coming from Japan. Consequently, it arrived yesterday ... too late for the bevelling. It seems a really great tool though, and will get used.

SHINTO JAPANESE DOUBLE SIDED COARSE & FINE SAW RASP

For those who haven't encountered strip-planking before, I should point out that the planks are very narrow. I use Western Red Cedar because it is straight grained, knot-free and strong although there is a tendency to split or snap if mishandled. I use the type that is called, "bead and cove" that's to say one edge is rounded and one is scooped out into a cove. In the picture below I have placed a pencil in order that you can better judge the sizes involved.

The lengths I have are about 22 feet long (7 m). As you can imagine they are prone to whip around which can cause them to snap. However, once they are in place they are perfect for the job as they have to bend and twist around all the moulds.

Here you can see the first plank in place with the second being offered -up for fitting prior to glueing them together.

Almost Ready For Planking

On and off, for the last month, I have been bevelling the edges of the moulds to receive the best fit for the planking. That's 12 moulds or 24 sides to bevel. 

This also involved bevelling the stem and the transom.

The transom, as you can see from the picture, is having a 'frame' fitted to it. The frame is in three parts: one along the bottom and one up each side; these three parts are made out of 35mm x 75mm (approx 1.5" x 3") Douglas Fir. The frame has to be bevelled too. All the bevels are complex and not just at one angle.  

I have removed the transom in order to make it easier to glue the frame to it.

Tomorrow is a gardening day and so it will be, with any luck, the start of planking on Tuesday